CARMICHAEL 2ND AT HOUSTON SX

April 2, 2006

Team Suzuki Press Office – April 2, 2006.

Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael continues to extend his points lead in the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series by finishing second at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Saturday night as team mate Ivan Tedesco walked away with a sixth-place finish.

Said Carmichael: “I feel like I was pretty consistent all night. James Stewart has got six wins now, I’ve got six wins and we’re tied for the World title: It’s what everybody wants to see. But I’m just looking forward to getting better; to improving my performance at the beginning of the race and still being there at the end.”

Carmichael and Tedesco continue to be paired together in the Supercross-class heat races at the beginning of the evening, and Houston’s eight-lap qualifier saw Carmichael get the holeshot with Tedesco right behind him to finish one-two.

“It was a good race, I got a sweet holeshot,” said Carmichael after the heat. “But it doesn’t mean anything in the heat race - I’ve got to do it in the Main. But I’m looking forward to it tonight; I’m looking to put on a good show for Houston.”

A good show was exactly what Houston got: Although Carmichael didn’t get the holeshot in the 20-lap Supercross Main Event, he got a good start and was in second place before the end of the first lap and rode consistently and smoothly to the flag.

“The Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 is great,” said Carmichael. “There are so many things you can do with a four-stroke engine. It’s unlimited. It’s just a matter of finding what works for you and what you feel most comfortable with. We’ve made some progress with the engine and it’s obvious that my starts have improved.”

Tedesco, meanwhile, got out of the gate a little further back than Carmichael, but worked his way up into sixth position, which is where he remained for the rest of the night.

“I felt stuck in a rut tonight,” said Tedesco. “Even though I didn’t get the greatest start, I made some decent moves to get myself into position to either get on the podium or at least get close to the podium. And then I just got stuck in a rut. It was very frustrating. I tried some things but nothing seemed to really work out for me.”

Tedesco hopes to get out of this rut by taking advantage of the upcoming two weekends off from the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross schedule. “I’m hanging here in Houston with some buddies of mine,” said Tedesco with a smile. “Then I’ll head back to Southern California and start testing for the Outdoors.”

Likewise, Carmichael is looking forward to some down time. “I’m just going to do what I want to do,” he said of the two-week break. “Get off the beaten path, relax a bit and then get ready for Dallas and the last few races.”

In the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, Carmichael is tied for the lead in the points chase and Tedesco remains in fourth position overall.

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